Nashville’s Data Center Fight Strikes a Chord
🎸 Nashville’s data center fight reveals what makes Music City tick · NewsChannel 5 to host TN GOP Gubernatorial Debate on July 20, Blackburn uncommitted · Knox County Commission passes one-year moratorium on data centers · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Nashville’s data center fight reveals what makes Music City tick... NewsChannel 5 to host TN GOP Gubernatorial Debate on July 20, Blackburn uncommitted... Knox County Commission passes one-year moratorium on data centers... And much more!
New American Frontiers Join us July 16th for a conversation with Kevin Dolan, founder of the EXIT fraternity, on institutional decline, parallel power, and where political opportunities are. (Buy Ticket)
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Nashville’s data center fight reveals what makes Music City tick.
From Megan Podsiedlik
During Tuesday’s council meeting, local singer-songwriter Jack Settle stepped up to the mic to share his thoughts on data centers:
“I'm fortunate to get to play, on occasion, at the Bluebird Cafe, and every time I play there, I meet people from at least two other countries and probably ten other states. Those people don't come here to see our data centers; they come here for our music, for our talent, and for Tennessee's incredibly beautiful scenery, so let's continue to make Nashville a welcoming place to visitors but, most importantly, a safe, comfortable home for its residents.”
Settle's message reflects the relationship that has long defined Nashville. Music City thrives on the partnership between the people who call it home and the visitors drawn by its music, talent, and scenery. That relationship brings as much vibrancy, opportunity, and culture as it does traffic, growing pains, and the occasional dose of Broadway debauchery.
Despite recurring efforts to pit the locals against billionaires and bachelorettes, Nashville's identity has always depended on the coexistence of both. The people make up the colorful tapestry of the city; tourism greases the wheels.
In the same breath, Settle—perhaps unintentionally—highlighted the rare unity among council members working to address data centers, despite the fractured factions simmering just beneath the surface.
He thanked Councilmembers Rollin Horton, Ginny Welsch, and Courtney Johnston in the same sentence: a member at odds with a local community over accusations of choosing developers over neighborhoods, a member who has consistently pushed budget proposals to defund the police, and a member often cast as the council’s token conservative, swimming upstream in a predominantly progressive body. A feat, perhaps, that only a controversy as contentious as placing a data center near a zoo could have accomplished—at least on paper.
Tech takeover on the brain It only took a quick glance at Settle’s social media to see that the singer-songwriter embodies Nashville’s quintessential bootstraps-to-billboards music scene. Currently taking a break from social media, the crooner had been contemplating the implications of a technological takeover long before a data center was ever proposed next to the Nashville Zoo.
“Clanker is like a derogatory term for robots,” Settle explained to an audience before playing a little ditty he wrote called “The Clanker Song.”
It's 2065, and I'm still alive,
But I miss my younger days.
Back when a person was all organic—
Flesh and bone, with a face.
Intelligence was real,
Everyone could feel emotions like joy and pain.
I played my guitar, and I drove my own car,
With the neurons in my brain.
I still have my wits,
But many others have thrown all theirs away.
Just when I thought things couldn't get worse,
I found out my son is...
In love with a robot,
He thinks she's real hot.
My son is dating a machine.
He turns her on with the push of a button,
He's making out with a stream.
My son's in love with a clanker,
My worst nightmare has happened.
He's falling like an anchor,
For his electronic girlfriend.
Oh, the rage!
Oh, the anger!
My son's in love with a clanker.
Multiple poems were recited during this week’s council meeting, a testament to the passion and frustration fueling opposition to DC Blox and its proposed data center. The growing movement has become so uniquely Nashville that perhaps the next protest will be on the Grassmere lawn, six-strings in tow.
✹ NEW AMERICAN FRONTIERS
New American Frontiers Kevin Dolan, founder of the EXIT fraternity, argues the institutions most people still rely on have turned hostile to competence and entered a slow decline that can't be reversed from within. After being doxxed and fired in 2021, he set out to build the alternative: parallel institutions and the high-trust networks that hold up when formal ones don't.
Join us Thursday, July 16th for a conversation on institutional decline, parallel power, and where the political openings actually are.
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
HEADLINES
- 🎤 NewsChannel 5 to host Tennessee GOP Gubernatorial Debate on July 20th. NewsChannel 5 will host a live Republican gubernatorial primary debate on July 20, and have invited all three GOP candidates seeking to succeed Governor Bill Lee. U.S. Representative John Rose and state Representative Monty Fritts have agreed to participate, but U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn has not committed to taking part in the debate. (NewsChannel 5)
- 💻 Knox County Commission passes one-year moratorium on data centers. The Knox County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on new data centers, temporarily halting approvals while officials study the facilities' impacts on electricity demand, water use, noise, and surrounding communities. During the moratorium, county leaders plan to develop zoning and land-use regulations to govern future data center development, with supporters arguing the pause gives the county time to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. (10News)
- 💸 Sexton calls for Memphis schools takeover lawsuit to be dropped following state audit results. A state-ordered forensic audit found widespread failures in governance, procurement, and financial oversight at Memphis-Shelby County Schools, identifying more than $54 million in transactions consistent with potential fraud, waste, or abuse. The audit highlighted a $48.4 million custodial services contract that investigators said was improperly awarded outside the district's established procurement process and issued 133 recommendations to strengthen oversight. The findings come as state officials continue increasing oversight of the district and are expected to play a significant role in ongoing debates over its leadership and governance. (TNJ)
DEVELOPMENT
- Belmont pays $1.75M for campus-area home (Post)
- For-sale Five Points building sees asking price hike (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎙️ Harry Connick, Jr. @ Ryman Auditorium, 8p, Info
🪕 Thomas Rhett & Niall Horan @ GEODIS Park, 6p, $34+, Info
🎻 Dolly Parton's Threads: My Songs in Symphony @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 6p, $49, Info
🎸 Andy Thomas @ The Basement, 9p, $17.72, Info
+ honky-tonk
🪕 The Graves Brothers @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Open Mic @ Fox & Locke, 6:30p, Free, Info
+ vet community here
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.